Marina Sanaya

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Valterovna and the family name is Sanaya.

Marina Valterovna Sanaya (Melnyk) (Russian: Марина Вальтеровна Саная (Мельник); 7 January 1959 – 6 October 2016) was a Russian figure skating official and competitor who represented the Soviet Union. Competing at the age of 13, she placed 18th at the 1972 Winter Olympics.

Marina Sanaya
Full name	Marina Valterovna Sanaya
Other names	Marina Melnyk
Born	(1959-01-07)7 January 1959 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	6 October 2016(2016-10-06) (aged 57) Englewood, Colorado, U.S.
Figure skating career
Country	Soviet Union
Coach	Nina Zhuk, Sergei Chetverukhin, Aleksandr Gorelik
Skating club	CSKA Moscow
Retired	1975

Life and career

Born in Moscow,^[1] Marina Sanaya was the daughter of Walter Sanaya, who served as a football goalkeeper for FC Dynamo Moscow and FC Dinamo Tbilisi in the 1950s. She started skating at the age of six at CSKA Moscow.^[1]

At age 13, Sanaya represented the Soviet Union at the 1972 European Championships in Gothenburg, where she placed 23rd, and at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, where she ranked 18th.^[2] The following season, she finished 11th at the 1973 European Championships in Cologne and 16th at the 1973 World Championships in Bratislava. Her coaches included Nina Zhuk, Sergei Chetverukhin, and Aleksandr Gorelik.^[1]

Following her retirement from competition, Sanaya became a skating official and served as a judge, technical controller, and referee.^[3] She was the judge for Russia during the pairs event at the 2002 Winter Olympics.^[4][5]

Sanaya was honored at the Ice Theatre of New York's annual benefit gala in 2008. She died in October 2016.^[1]

Competitive highlights

International
Event	71–72	72–73	73–74	74–75	75–76
Winter Olympics	18th
World Championships	21st	16th
European Champ.	23rd	11th	21st
Prague Skate					6th
National
Soviet Championships		2nd		4th

References

1. "После тяжелой болезни скончалась Марина САНАЯ — судья ИСУ, работавшая на Олимпийских играх и чемпионатах Европы и мира" [Marina Sanaya has died] (in Russian). Figure Skating Federation of Russia. 6 October 2016.
2. "Marina Sanaya". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
3. "Communication No. 1467: List of Referees, Judges, Technical Controllers, Technical Specialists, Data and Replay Operators 2007/2008 for Single & Pair Skating, Ice Dancing and Synchronized Skating". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009.
4. "2002 Winter Olympics: Judges' scorecard". ESPN. Archived from the original on 13 March 2003.
5. Elliott, Helene (9 August 2002). "Russian Officials Tell Their Side of the Story". Los Angeles Times.